Akira had already obtained the technique for manufacturing ordinary ninja tools from the Craft Ninja Village, but the techniques Qingming used to create high-end ninja tools had not yet been acquired.
Akira had learned through Kaga that Qingming had indeed completed four legendary ninja tools shortly before his death. However, because he died not long after completing the tools, the techniques for manufacturing these tools were not passed down.
Furthermore, although these four ninja tools were very powerful, because the Craft Ninja Village was no longer a combat-oriented village, the tools were not used by its inhabitants. Instead, they were sealed in the Spirit Temple alongside Qingming's body, enshrined as relics.
This revelation left Akira somewhat disheartened. He had hoped to uncover valuable documentation or insight within the village, but it seemed those secrets had been buried with Qingming himself. If he wanted to understand these advanced techniques, Akira would have to go a step further—he would have to find a way to resurrect Qingming.
It was true that the four Tenzo had once used a method to absorb Shukaku's Chakra, enabling Qingming to return in some form. But resurrecting him was only half the problem—how could Akira then extract Qingming's knowledge? Qingming certainly wouldn't volunteer it.
There was one possibility. Akira possessed a powerful jutsu that could read memories—something he had acquired from one of Sasori's 100 Human Puppets. That puppet had once been a sensory ninja from the Hidden Mist Village, skilled in the art of mental probing.
But there was a complication. Would such a jutsu work on a resurrected entity that wasn't truly alive? Qingming's form would be something closer to a spiritual echo, bound to a puppet-like vessel. Could memories even be read in such a state?
Regardless of the uncertainty, Akira wasn't willing to return empty-handed. He made a firm decision—to steal Qingming's body and the four ninja tools to study them himself.
Through Kaga, he had learned the Spirit Temple's location. Under cover of night, he slipped through the shadows and headed there.
To his surprise, the Spirit Temple was barely guarded. It seemed that the Craft Ninja Village had long moved on from Qingming and his relics. They preserved them, yes, but they did not seem to grasp—or perhaps fear—their true value.
Akira easily bypassed the temple's modest security and approached the ancient coffin that held Qingming's preserved remains. Next to it, nestled in ceremonial wrappings and a faint layer of dust, lay the four legendary ninja tools.
The first was the Infinite Hole Armor, a mysterious piece of equipment imbued with the ability to absorb Chakra from its surroundings and enemies alike. Beside it rested the Peacock Dual Swords, elegant blades that shimmered faintly in the dim light, known for their unique ability to manipulate and control wind with every swing. Then there was the Dragon Eye Telescopic Sword, a blade that could extend its length at will, its hilt engraved with intricate seals that pulsed with latent energy. Lastly, the Light Sword sat gleaming with an ethereal glow, a weapon that could channel raw chakra into pure light, slashing with the speed and sharpness of lightning itself.
Without hesitation, Akira used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport the items and Qingming's body back to the Grell Ruins.
He began with a close examination of the ninja tools. As he tested their properties, he confirmed their authenticity. The armor absorbed chakra as expected, the swords responded to elemental chakra flows, and he recognized familiar jutsu formulas embedded in their construction—similar to those seen in the chakra cores of human puppets.
It became clear to Akira that the true secret of these tools lay in their puppet-like nature. Though they weren't controlled by chakra threads, their structure mirrored puppet designs. Their users could wield jutsu simply by holding them—no need for the precision control Sasori's puppets required.
Turning his attention to Qingming's body, Akira was again taken aback. This wasn't an ordinary corpse—it had been meticulously prepared, drained of chakra and preserved in a way eerily similar to the human puppets Sasori once crafted. The techniques, however, were crude in comparison. Where Sasori's work preserved a perfect image of life, Qingming's body had become a desiccated shell.
But there was something else. Modifications. Akira recognized design elements that echoed the very tools Qingming had created. It seemed that in his final days, Qingming had tried to turn himself into a ninja tool, or something close to it—a living puppet.
His failure was likely due to his inability to complete a regeneration core, a mechanism that would endlessly generate chakra. Lacking this, Qingming opted to divide his remaining chakra among the four ninja tools and seal his consciousness within his modified body.
Qingming left behind instructions detailing how he might be revived. If someone were to wear the four ninja tools and use them in conjunction with Qingming's body, feeding it enough chakra through the Infinite Hole Armor, his consciousness could be reawakened.
However, such a resurrection required a sacrifice—someone's life.
This was where Akira hesitated. He wasn't above killing, especially in war or self-defense. But to take a life for personal gain? To reduce someone to fuel for a jutsu? That crossed a line.
He pondered a solution. If the sacrifice didn't need to be truly alive—merely a suitable vessel—then what if he used a shadow clone?
Shadow Clones were chakra-based but mimicked human physiology. And Akira had refined his technique to the point of creating Yang Illusion Bodies—shadow clones infused with life force, closer to actual beings than typical clones.
If any clone could function as a suitable vessel, it would be one of these.
Akira prepared immediately. He brought the four tools and Qingming's corpse to the remote wastelands near Kikyo Mountain, ensuring that if a battle broke out, it wouldn't endanger his main hideout or the Grael mineral seal.
Under the crimson moonlight, Akira summoned a Yang Illusion Body and had it don the legendary tools. He infused the clone with chakra and watched as the tools responded—they accepted the energy without resistance.
Next, Akira unsealed a fragment of Shukaku's tail and allowed the Infinite Hole Armor to absorb its chakra. After a few minutes, he estimated that the chakra levels were sufficient. He dared not overdo it—if Qingming returned too strong, even his puppet form might be difficult to subdue.
Once everything was in place, the Yang Illusion Body stood before Qingming's coffin, clad in the four tools.
The moment it approached, Qingming's corpse began to glow.
Akira sensed it immediately—the tools were breaking down the clone's chakra and form, converting it into a stream of pure energy. The Yang Illusion Body trembled and then dissolved, every ounce of its essence pouring into the corpse.
As the light faded, the coffin cracked. A hand emerged.
Qingming, fully restored in appearance and form, stepped forth from his grave. His eyes opened slowly, glowing with unfamiliar, ancient light.
Akira narrowed his gaze, already preparing the jutsu to peer into this revived mind—ready to extract the secrets that had eluded even death.
Kiyomi's first words upon stepping out of the coffin rang with self-declared grandeur:
"My name is Kiyomi, and I am the founder of Takumi Village. Now, after a century, I have finally been resurrected as the ultimate ninja tool of Takumi Village."
Akira blinked, utterly unimpressed. Did I ask? he thought, raising an eyebrow. Who are you introducing yourself to?
He also couldn't help but nitpick internally. A century? It's only been, what, eighty years at most? Talk about dramatic exaggeration.
Kiyomi seemed wholly unconcerned with Akira's silent judgments. He completed a swift sequence of hand seals, prompting the four ninja tools to rise and glow with renewed light. As Kiyomi stepped toward them, the radiance intensified.
By the time Akira could see clearly again, the tools had vanished—merged completely with Kiyomi's resurrected form.
Now transformed, Kiyomi bore the markings of his reconfiguration. A wolf-head-like structure adorned his chest, the Dragon Eye Telescopic Sword embedded down his back. The Peacock Twin Swords became the fangs of the wolf head, while the Light Sword curved upward as a horn. He had become something more than human: the living embodiment of the ultimate ninja weapon, the legendary construct known as Ame-no-Toribune.
Feeling the surge of unprecedented power flowing through him, Kiyomi began to laugh—first a low chuckle, then a booming roar, full of arrogance and long-pent-up delusion.
"My long-cherished wish has finally come true! From today onward, Takumi Village will reign supreme among all ninja!"
Akira frowned slightly. That confirms it. This guy definitely intended to come back after Hashirama and Madara were out of the picture. There's no way he'd dare talk like this if they were still alive.
It was already ridiculous enough. Clearly, Kiyomi had no idea just how much the Five Great Nations had evolved in the decades since his death. Whatever power he had, it was still rooted in an obsolete understanding of the current shinobi world.
Then Kiyomi's eyes fell on the remnant of Shukaku's tail lying on the ground—something Akira had not yet resealed.
"So… this was the power used to revive me," Kiyomi muttered. "A fragment of the monster from Sunagakure. Very well. Once I absorb the remainder of this tail, I shall claim the rest of Shukaku's power myself. With it, I will possess an endless energy source."
As he extended his hand to drain the remaining chakra from the tail, Akira acted swiftly. His shadow clone resealed the tail fragment back into his ocular space with a flicker of eye power.
Kiyomi, visibly irritated, turned toward Akira, his tone demanding. "You must be from Takumi Village. I am your ancestor! Hand over the tail. I need to regain my strength."
Akira nearly laughed out loud. "I'm your ancestor? Kiyomi, did only your body get resurrected, and not your brain? Or maybe the resurrection damaged your intelligence? It's obvious I'm not from your Takumi Village."
Kiyomi's expression darkened. "Impossible. Someone from Takumi must have revived me. Who are you? How did you learn the method to bring me back?"
"Let's just say I heard it from a particularly talkative Takumi ninja," Akira replied flatly. "But the truth is, Takumi Village had no intention of reviving you. They've moved on. These days, they're doing quite well for themselves without you. The last thing they need is a centuries-old relic making a mess."
He was right. Though Takumi Village had never rivaled the Five Great Nations in strength or influence, it had found peace. Its people lived stable, humble lives. The few radicals like the Four Celestial Beings were outliers, not the norm.
But Kiyomi couldn't accept that. His pride wouldn't allow it.
"Lies! Takumi's dream has always been to surpass the Five Great Nations and take our rightful place as the strongest ninja village! You will regret deceiving me. Once I kill you and claim all of Shukaku's power, I'll return to Takumi and correct this betrayal myself!"
With that, Kiyomi rose into the air. The three telescopic swords protruding from his back began to twist and shimmer, forming into three massive chakra dragons that charged toward Akira.
Unmoved, Akira raised his hand. With a gesture, iron sand surged around him, reshaping into three long whips that lashed out to ensnare Kiyomi's dragons in mid-air.
Kiyomi's chest-wolf bared its fangs. "Wind Release: Steel Air Cannon!" it growled, spewing a barrage of high-velocity chakra bullets.
But Akira's Magnet Release formed a dense shield of iron sand, neutralizing the assault with ease.
Still, Akira noticed something troubling. The chakra he poured into the iron sand was slowly being siphoned away.
So, the Infinite Hole Armor can absorb chakra even through indirect contact, he noted. But the rate's too low to matter.
Akira's puppet body—crafted from the remains of the Third Kazekage—housed two chakra cores. Supplemented by the Gelel Stone, its total energy output rivaled four chakra cards. It was a powerhouse.
Even if the full Shukaku stood before him, Akira's puppet could likely hold its own. Kiyomi, for all his theatrics, had absorbed only a fragment of Shukaku's power.
At first, he managed to hold his ground. But the strength of the Infinite Hole Armor waned quickly. Once its chakra reserves were depleted, Kiyomi's movements slowed.
Akira seized the opening.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Coffin!"
A cascade of iron sand engulfed Kiyomi, clamping around him like a prison. His body was soon immobilized, sealed tight within the sand—only his head left exposed.
Despite Kiyomi's muffled cries of rage, the battle was over.
Akira transported the sealed Kiyomi back to the Gelel Ruins and summoned his puppet clone with the ability to read minds. There was only one step left.
Though Kiyomi's body was more tool than man, his consciousness remained human. The jutsu worked.
Akira's spiritual presence overwhelmed Kiyomi's inner world. With two lifetimes' worth of experience and the combined memories of Kawa and Sasori, his mental strength shattered Kiyomi's defenses like glass.
He sifted through Kiyomi's memories with ruthless efficiency, ignoring the mundane. He searched for what he had come for: the secrets of ninja tool creation.
And what secrets they were.
Kiyomi's mind was a treasure trove of knowledge—many of the foundational blueprints for advanced ninja tools had originated with him. Akira cross-referenced them with what he had learned while undercover in Takumi Village.
It was clear: though much of Kiyomi's knowledge had become outdated, the core techniques remained unparalleled. Newer generations had improved upon them, yes—but their roots were unmistakably Kiyomi's.
By combining both sets of knowledge, Akira now possessed a deeper and broader mastery of ninja tool creation than anyone alive.
And yet, he did not destroy Kiyomi.
Despite having mined his mind for everything of value, Akira recognized the uniqueness of his body. As a sentient ninja tool, Kiyomi was a rare specimen—an opportunity to study a living fusion of man and weapon.
Perhaps, with time, Akira could isolate and seal Kiyomi's consciousness and convert the body into an advanced Human Puppet. The similarities to Sasori's technique were too promising to ignore.
With everything in place, Akira turned his gaze toward his next objective: the samurai of the Land of Rice Fields.
Now armed with the knowledge and materials required, it was finally time to begin designing and manufacturing super ninja tools worthy of reshaping the battlefield once again.